Laura Somoggi, Co-CEO at Womanity, is an international development expert with a focus on gender equity, social impact, and trust-based philanthropy.
A feminist and strong advocate for devolution of power through equitable partnerships, Laura has overseen programmes with a presence in 15 countries. Coming from a colonised country and a family of refugees, the decolonisation of knowledge and development is especially personal to her.
Laura joined Womanity in 2017 to lead their efforts to prevent violence against women and girls. Her diverse career includes a decade in journalism in Brazil and another decade managing global partnerships in the corporate sector with international NGOs and UN agencies. Laura also serves on the board of Right to Be (formerly Hollaback!).
In this episode, Julia and Laura speak about hope and resilience in the face of backlash, the status of gender equality around the world and about decolonizing development. Laura shares her own stories – including about her career move – and talks about the work of Womanity at large and in Afghanistan specifically.
“We know that without the knowledge, the relationships, the understanding of the context, the money probably won’t be used in a way that’s going to be more meaningful.”
– Laura Somoggi
The Hey Changemaker! Podcast is hope and solidarity delivered to you through personal conversations with changemakers. Listen to more episodes, subscribe, nominate a guest and leave a voice message for the podcast here.
